Kavous Seyed-Emami
Born(1953-12-24)24 December 1953[1]
Tehran, Iran[1]
Died8 February 2018(2018-02-08) (aged 64)
Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran
Resting placeAmmameh, Shemiranat, Iran
CitizenshipIranian-Canadian
Criminal chargeEspionage
SpouseMaryam Mombeini
ChildrenRamin and Mehran
Alma materOhio University[1]
University of Oregon[1]
Scientific career
FieldsSociology
InstitutionsImam Sadiq University
ThesisShi'ism and Development in Post-Revolutionary Iran (1991)
Military career
AllegianceIran
Service/branchArmy[2]
Years of service1980–1981
Battles/wars

Kavous Seyed-Emami (Persian: کاووس سیدامامی; December 24, 1953 – February 8, 2018) was an Iranian-Canadian academic and conservationist. Seyed-Emami ran the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF) and was a sociology professor.[1]

In February 2018, Iran's judiciary said that he killed himself while in detention in Evin Prison, Tehran, because of the evidence against him in a spying case.[3] This claim, including the alleged suicide, has been rejected by his family.

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland offered her condolences and stated that Canada expects "the Government of Iran to provide information and answers into the circumstances surrounding this tragedy."[4] She welcomed the return of Seyed-Emami's sons back to Canada in March 2018 and asked the Government of Iran to lift the travel ban on Seyed-Emami's spouse, Maryam Mombeini.[5][6]

Life

Seyed-Emami was a Western-educated Iranian. He returned to Iran after the Iranian Revolution and fought in the war against Iraq.[7] He was a professor of Sociology at Imam Sadiq University in Tehran and a visiting scholar at the University of Lethbridge in 2017.[8] He was one of the founders of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF), a private non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of wildlife in Iran.[9]

Arrest

Professor Kavous Seyed-Emami along with seven other environmentalists and fellow members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation was arrested on February 6, 2018, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. [10]

Death

Professor Seyed-Emami, the founder of PWHF, died under suspicious circumstances in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran two days after his arrest.

Iran's judiciary claimed the 65-year-old professor of sociology had committed suicide because of evidence of espionage against him but his family and acquaintances and human rights defenders have always refuted the claim.

According to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), one of the Tehran-based lawyers representing the family has revealed that the autopsy result was never made public but a preliminary state medical examiner’s report "showed evidence of an injection on his skin" as well as “bruises on different parts of the body.”[11]


See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Iranian environmentalist who died in prison had strong UO roots". The Register-Guard. February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Kavous Seyed-Emami Obituary". The Register-Guard. February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Iran environmentalist's death 'suicide'". BBC News. February 11, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  4. ^ "Canada offers condolences following death of Mr. Seyed-Emami" (Press release). Global Affairs Canada. February 14, 2018.
  5. ^ "Canada calls for safe return to Canada of Kavous Seyed-Emami's widow, Maryam Mombeini" (Press release). Global Affairs Canada. March 8, 2018.
  6. ^ "Canada calls on Iranian authorities to let Maryam Mombeini return to Canada" (Press release). Global Affairs Canada. March 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Cohen, Roger (February 14, 2018). "Opinion - Death by Hanging in Tehran". The New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Iranian-Canadian academic's death in Iran prison a 'profound tragedy,' says Alberta prof". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  9. ^ "Is Kavous Emami's suicide in Iran 'a cover-up'?". Al Jazeera. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "Iran Court Upholds 58 Years Prison Term for Eight Environmentalists".
  11. ^ "Iran Court Upholds 58 Years Prison Term for Eight Environmentalists".
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